Todays rns12 Sep 2018 09:29
https://www.voxmarkets.co.uk/rns/announcement/a08557d3-d4a0-4e61-9d3a-75cc29d2c8be/
Faron Pharmaceuticals Ltd
("Faron" or the "Company")
Clever-1 participates in the control of humoral (antibody-mediated) immunity
- New data published by Frontiers in Immunology
TURKU - FINLAND, 12 September 2018 - Faron Pharmaceuticals Ltd ("Faron") (AIM: FARN), the clinical stage biopharmaceutical company, announces today new data on Clever-1 function in the control of antibody production by B-lymphocytes (B cells).
Clever-1, a cell surface receptor expressed mainly by endothelial cells and monocytes/macrophages, has previously been shown to control cell-mediated immunity (Palani et al. 2016). The recent work by Dunkel and colleagues, published online by Frontiers in Immunology, shows for the first time that Clever-1 also participates in the control of B cell response and humoral antibody production. The data suggest that Clever-1 serves as an endogenous immunosuppressive molecule in monocytes/macrophages, where it maintains the production of inflammatory cytokines at physiological levels. When Clever-1 is removed from monocytes/macrophages, one consequence of the unrestrained production of inflammatory cytokines is the increased antibody production by B cells.
Deleting or neutralizing Clever-1 has previously been reported to augment antitumor immune responses in melanoma, lymphoma and breast cancer. The efficacy of anti-Clever-1 antibodies in these experimental models supports Faron's development of Clevegen, its fully human anti-Clever-1 antibody, under investigation as a potential cancer immunotherapy and due to enter the clinic later this year.
The observations by Dunkel et al suggest that disrupting the function of Clever-1 should not lead to the suppression of antibody production but, rather, could improve humoral immune responses against tumor antigens and during vaccinations.
Commenting on this finding, Dr Markku Jalkanen, CEO of Faron, said: "This is a fascinating finding and builds up further evidence for the importance to control Clever-1 function in conditions where active immune suppression can cause disease or worsen disease development. It provides further scientific rationale for our Vaccination Response Enhancement Technology (VRET) programme, which is currently under early investigation with Clevegen."
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